Process Exploration
I use textiles, thread, wax, fire, and paint to investigate the connections of trauma and the body. My work is an exploration of societal limitations and the manipulation of women in a historically patriarchal environment. My textiles are indexical artifacts that externalize different processes involved with trauma and challenge stereo-typically gendered limitations such as domestic life and objectification.
Process and documentation are integral in the motif of manipulation. The flexibility and unique character of fabric are stretched and sewn together to resemble intimate garments that are warped from the tugging of black thread. Sewing is the basis at which these artifacts come to life and simultaneously unravel. Wax dipping and fire are immediate processes that seal and destroy the former qualities of the fabric and thread. I am left to find resolve in the remains of the abstract garment that was once pulled together intricately.
Artists such as Eva Hesse and Janine Antoni supply inspiration for explorations into material properties and the practice of feminist art. Quoting these artists aids in pushing the transformation of stereotypical limitations such as fabric craft into reclaimed fine art practices. These transformations are not only a personal testament but a continuation of the voice that has long been limited socially. In a time where female political, health and social rights are being tested once again, my exploration lies in the pursuit of narrating the mental, emotional, and physical limitations that have been a consistent struggle for women.
Splayed (2020), 14" x 24". Mixed Fabric, Tulle, Red and White Beeswax, Thread, Fire
Laced Lipid (2020), 24" x 30". Pleather, Lace, mixed Fabric, Gunpowder, Fire, Thread
Provocation (2019), 8" x 30". Fabric, Wool, Thread, Red and White Beeswax
Stretched (2019), 36"x60", Fabric, Beeswax, Coffee Grounds, Thread, Tulle
Domesticate I (2020), 36"x60". Fabric, Thread, Wax, Gunpowder
